Cellular shades have become a popular type of window covering in residential and commercial applications. The shades are aesthetically attractive and also provide improved insulation across a window or other type of opening due to their cellular construction. Cellular shades have assumed various forms, including a plurality of longitudinally extending tubes made of a flexible or semi-rigid material. Cellular shades can, for instance, be mounted at the top of a door or window for extending across an architectural opening. When the shade is in an expanded state, the tubes cover the opening. The shade can be retracted or drawn into a contracted state wherein the tubes collapse into a stack.
The design emphasis in home and building structures has maintained pressure on the industry to continue to create unique aesthetically attractive coverings for architectural openings. Although the introduction of cellular shades has greatly benefited the industry in this regard, there remains a need to create cellular shades having a unique appearance for providing further options to consumers. In addition, conventional cellular shades are typically configured such that the front face of each shade is uniformly illuminated as light is transmitted through the shade. While such uniform illumination is often desirable, a need also exists for a cellular shade that provides for varying amounts of illumination along the front face of the shade to again provide further design options to consumers.